Rare 'supermoon' lunar eclipse occurring Sunday night

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A super blood moon combined with the occurrence of a total lunar eclipse will set the stage for a rare celestial event visible from Europe and Africa across to the United States on Sunday.

As North America rotates into orbital darkness Sunday evening, the perigee full Moon will be at its closest position to earth this year. This plus the addition of the Moon's location in the Earth's shadow will present an eclipse appearing 14% larger than usual and reddish in color.

NASA explained the skyshow will begin at 8:11 p.m. EDT, as the Moon's sun lite reflection is slowly cast into shadow as it slips behind our planet. The total eclipse will start at 10:11 p.m. and last for 71 minutes, peaking at 10:47 p.m.

Tellus Science Museum, located northwest of Atlanta, will host a Moon event on Sunday evening. Guests will be able to view the eclipse through the Observatory's 20-inch telescope with the Atlanta Astronomy Club's own smaller telescopes set up nearby.

"The Moon will be high in the sky and the eclipse will be at a convenient time basically 9 p.m. to midnight," Tellus' Astronomy Program Manager David Dundee said on Friday. "This will be the last good total lunar eclipse for the southeast area until January of 2019."

North America treated to total lunar eclipse

The moon during Tuesday morning's eclipse in this NASA image.

Overcast skies across the Unites States forced many amateur astronomers inside to watch Tuesday morning's lunar eclipse by way of live video on the Internet.

Clouds over much of the country disappointed astronomers from watching the celestial show on this the first day of winter as the earth wedged between the Sun and the moon.

Low clouds over metro Atlanta forced many residents to give up their backyard moon parties and observations and head indoors.

Bill Sullivan of Lawrenceville, Georgia, was one resident dejected by the cloudy evening.

"My son and I had hoped to watch the eclipse, but I guess we'll just have to watch it on TV or something," he told this reported by phone.

Along the Texas Gulf Coast, residents were treated to an astronomical show as clear skies prevailed.

A total lunar eclipse occurs when the earth moves between the Sun and the moon, thus the Sun's light is blocked from reflecting off the moon's surface. The Sun's rays however do pass through the earth's atmosphere generating an orange to red light upon the moon's surface.

Just as predicted, the totality, or time when the earth's shadow fully covered the 1,060 mile wide face of the moon, began at 2:41 a.m. EST, and lasted just over seventy minutes.

The earth's dark shadow then gave way to a redish light upon the lunar surface as the Sun's light beamed through our planet's atmosphere.

Several observers in the south described the total eclipse to this reporter as looking like a "copper penny" or "copper and red".

A camera aboard the International Space Station was able to catch several dramatic views of the eclipse from 220 miles above earth.

On a historic note, the last time a lunar eclipse occurred on the first day of the winter solstice was 372 years ago -- Dec. 21, 1638. A time when Galileo de' Galilei, the father of modern astronomy, was alive and well in Italy.

The next total lunar eclipse to be visible from North America will happen again in April 2014.

America awaits total lunar eclipse on Tuesday

A total eclipse of the earth's moon on Tuesday will have sky watchers across North America braving cold temperatures to witness a rare celestial show.

Astronomers and space enthusiasts alike will have necks turned high and telescopes trained on earth's only natural satellite.

A total lunar eclipse is when the earth moves between the Sun and the moon, thus the Sun's direct light is blocked from reflecting off the moon's surface. Instead, the Sun's rays pass through the earth's atmosphere generating an orange to red light upon the moon's surface.

Astronomers from the east coast of the United States will begin to see the moon pass into the earth's shadow at 1:33 a.m. EST on Tuesday. Observers on the west coast will begin to see the eclipse at 10:33 p.m. local time Monday.

Even if you do not own a telescope, your own eyes or binoculars will do just fine.

As the earth flies around the Sun, and the moon orbits the earth, the totality -- or time when the earth's shadow fully covers the moon -- will last 72 minutes beginning at 2:41 a.m.

Weather permitting, thousands of amateur astronomers are expected to visit their local planetariums for the inside story on eclipse events on the first day of the winter solstice.

Cold temperatures and scattered clouds are forecast for the southeast early on Tuesday.

That's not stopping several we spoke with in north Georgia.

"I'm just planning on bundling up and letting my adrenaline fuel my observations on Tuesday morning," Jeff Weston of Alpharetta said on Friday.

At NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., a live camera feed of the eclipse is planned and can be viewed by visiting NASA's Eclipse page.

Also, follow this reporter via Twitter (@CAtkeison) for images and updates during the sky show.

This will be the last total lunar eclipse visible to North America until April 15, 2014.